South Africa have named an unchanged team to play New Zealand in for their opening 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B clash in Yokohama on Saturday.
Bok boss Rassie Erasmus said the team he selected to face the All Blacks is one that has worked well as a starting combination.
Erasmus on Wednesday named the same starting XV and eight replacements that defeated Japan, 41-7, in Kumagaya two weeks ago.
The match will mark Duane Vermeulen's 50th cap for the Springboks.
The named side also fought to a 16-16 draw with the same opposition in Wellington before beating Argentina, 46-13, in Salta on their way to the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
HALF CENTURY: Power player Duane Vermeulen will runout for the Springboks for the 50th time on Saturday. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix.
“We’ve found some consistency and some momentum in several ways this season,” said Erasmus, “and one of them is in selection.
“We have 31 players in the squad, any of whom I would be happy to select – as well as standby players back home – but this is a line-up that has worked well as a starting combination and one with real momentum to come from the bench.
“They have emerged together over the past 18 months as our game has developed and matured.
“We’re continuing to develop and new players are always pushing a claim but we’ve prepared well and we’re looking forward to what will be another extremely close match.”
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— Springboks (@Springboks)
The Springboks will meet the All Blacks on Saturday (11:45) in the first Group B clash of the World Cup.
The Springboks:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes:
16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel
African News Agency